Healthy Eating

Healthy Eating

Children in Taney Parish Primary School have the opportunity to eat on two occasions daily, so we ask you to send your child to school with a lunch each morning. We encourage healthy school lunches and, therefore, chewing gum, crisps and fizzy drinks (in glass bottles or cans) are not allowed at any time. The school requests that parents would avoid including foods with a high sugar content. Additionally, popcorn is not allowed in school. A short brochure on healthy school lunches, prepared by the Health Promotion Unit of the Department of Health and Children, is distributed to each family at the time of enrolment in Junior Infants and there is also information on its website so we would ask you to refer to these resources.

Food Dudes Programme

In line with promoting healthy lunches, Taney Parish Primary School has been implementing the Food Dudes Programme.

Developed by the University of Wales, Bangor, the aim of the initiative is to encourage children to eat more fruit and vegetables both in school and at home. It is based on positive role models (the Food Dudes characters), repeated tasting and rewards.

It is ultimately designed to enable children to enjoy eating healthy diets, and to create a healthy eating culture within schools. The programme in Ireland, which received a “counteracting obesity” award from the World Health Organisation in 2006, is managed by Bord Bia and to date over 3,100 primary schools are participating in the national roll-out. Funding has been made available by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and the EU School Fruit Scheme for schools that previously ran Food Dudes to implement it for current students at junior level including specified tasting days for senior classes.

The Food Dudes are four young super-heroes: Charlie, Tom, Raz and Rocco. By eating their favourite fruit or vegetables, the Food Dudes gain special powers which enable them to save the world and the Life Force from a gang of baddies: The Junk Punks. General Junk and his side-kicks, Miss Demeanour and Master Disaster, are trying to drain the energy of the world by depriving it of nutritious fruit and veg. With their special powers, given to them by carrots, tomatoes, raspberries and broccoli, the Food Dudes feed the Life Force and foil the Junk Punks.